August 27, 2011

The time has come again........we are starting a new life - once again!

It wasn't planned that way but then life gets in the way of things and before you know it you are heading in a entirely different direction.

We settled in Lugano in January 2007 thinking we would be staying there until the kids finished their studies....sweet dreams!

As our friends well know we just couldn't get rid of that twitchy feeling in our toes. We tried, we seriously tried to lay down our roots, and I am very happy to say that my children as well as my husband have definately established a couple of long-lasting foundations that will hopefully stick with them for life. I, of course, consider myself Swiss! ;)

Lugano did become a home for all of us: for me it was all about moving back to my home country and sharing part of my background with my children. Expat hubby became more Swiss than the Swiss culminating in the acquisition of a Swiss passport. Expat boy made some life-long friends and for Expat girl Breganzona will always remain home, I think.

We have sold our lovely house and left Lugano end of June with a heavy heart but excited about the change (except Expat girl). The family is following Expat hubby as he starts his new job. We are on our way to Paris this weekend after having spent a fabulous summer in our holiday house in Spain surrounded by our Spanish and International friends here.

Expat hubby and I have lived in Paris before, therefore I dare say this will be a relatively easy start. We have friends in Paris and both speak French. The kids will be fluent by Christmas, trust me. ;) I do miss the novelty factor a bit, I thrive on exploring new cultures and learning new languages but hey, we are moving to Paris....I won't complain. I am sure the French will provide me with plenty of challenges!

I will be very busy setting up shop over the next couple of weeks and am looking forward to it. My Lugano blog has become a much bigger success than expected therefore I will continue writing and see where it takes me. I have, in the meantime, created a new home for my blogging:

Expat with Kids in Paris

where I plan to write about my adventures avec les francais! So keep posted right here. ;)

August 14, 2011

Welcome to the world of Expat with Kids. Some of you already know me via my funky Lugano blog: Expat with Kids others will discover my blogger's univers for the first time.

Roughly one year ago I started blogging, by pure chance I must add, having found myself with two entire days to myself since I had planned some serious Milano shopping tours with a girlfriend of mine who cancelled last minute. I spent the following 48 hours on my beloved Mac trying to figure out how to blog. The result is the first English Lugano guide online for Expats.

Today I find myself at a new crossroad in life. Unexpectedly, we have left Lugano and are starting a new adventure in Paris as of September 2011.

Just as we started to create our lives, our patterns, our situations my husband announces that he has recieved an irresistible job offer. We had just orchestrated our everyday life into what we believed was our ideal. For decades we had explored, learned and changed destinations continuously, Lugano was suppose to be home for the next 20 years. Somewhere along the line, destiny dealt us a surprising hand.

To be perfectly honest, I like changing and discovering new countries, new homes, new languages, new people. It drives me to learn and adapt. I can almost feel my old, crusty synapses having to break down and create new paths. I like it. I thrive on it. Ultimately, I think it is good to change and reorder our lives, as this is what makes us learn and grow. It definately keeps me young, or so I'd like to think.

So, when you see something new that is intriguing, and maybe a bit scary, go ahead and investigate it. Certainly, you should be a little cautious, but open up your mind. Get close enough and get a sniff. Make your assessment and see if you like it. Change is challenging, it makes us uneasy, but it is worth it. As my mother used to say: "Every change brings something positive!".